POLICE have alerted parents and schools to the threat of child abductions after three incidents in the Burnley area.

A 10-year-old girl was followed by a car, a six-year-old girl was given a bag of sweets by a suspicious man and an attempt was made to entice an 11-year-old boy into a vehicle.

Inspector John Grice said parents should warn their children to be on their guard against strangers.

"Children should only speak to people they know," he said. "They should tell their parents of any approach by strangers and the parents should tell the police."

One of the incidents happened on Saturday and the other two occurred the Monday before. Police do not know whether the cases are linked.

Saturday's incident happened about 8.30pm in the Riverside area of Padiham, where a 10-year-old girl on a bike was followed by a man in a white car.

The man is described as white, about 30, fat and a skinhead, wearing check shirt, jeans and boots. His car may have been an M-reg Vauxhall Cavalier.

The other incidents happened in the nearby Ightenhill and Padiham Road areas of Burnley. The boy was approached by someone in a white vehicle, possibly a van, in Ighten Road.

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